Little Miss has some brothers that love her. She is also becoming quite a chatterbox. It’s really hard to record her talking, because when she sees the camera she quits. I did manage to get this clip from behind. Looks like Mr. Imagination wanted in on the video, as well! In the second one, we had leftover whipped cream from a special treat one evening (waffles served with cherry pie filling and whipped cream), so Mr. Diligence fed some of it to her while he cleaned out the cup.
Memories
For a number of years, from 1986 when I was 11, until 1990, when I was 16, I wrote and printed a small family newspaper, called The Starr-Hill Gazette. Actually, I wrote the news items, and begged family and friends for other stories. I got the folder of those papers out one evening last week so I could find one I especially remembered, and we had fun reading bits from them. Here is the one I was looking for, written by my mother:
OOPS!
Neighbor Mike makes his living moving and setting up mobile homes. Apparently he had a rough day recently….
Mike’s brother-in-law Dan was moving, home and all, and Mike was helping with the move. The mobile home had an addition which needed to be removed, so Mike used Dan’s saw to cut it away. The saw burnt out. “Cheap saw,” said Dan. “Oh, well.”
There was a gas line to disconnect. Mike gave the fitting a turn. Easy! He pulled off the wrench and went for another turn. The jaws of the wrench fell off in his hand. A brand new wrench. “Cheap wrench,” said Dan. “Oh, well.”
Time to jack up the mobile home. “I’ll go close the door so it doesn’t get caught on the way up,” said Dan.
“Ready?” asked Mike.
“No,” came the reply. Sounded like “Go.” Mike started to jack.
Once. Twice. Moving nicely! Three, four…crunch. Five, creak, crunch, “Whoa!!” Sounded like, “Go!” Six, crunch. “Whoa, whoa! STOP!”
“What happened?” inquired Mike.
“You’ve got to come and see this!” was the reply.
Mike went. The door had been open. It had caught under the roof of the addition. It was, to put it mildly, warped. Oops. Mike let the jack down again. The door straightened out! “Cheap door,” said Dan.
Apparently the rest of the move went without mishap, but we were roaring too loudly to actually hear the conclusion. After awhile, everyone subsided. Mike picked up his cup of coffee. He leaped up from his chair. The handle of the cup was all that he had in his hand. The coffee was all over him.
“Cheap cup,” someone said.
(Names have been changed to protect privacy, but this is a true story. The picture shows how the cup broke.)
One of my sisters drew comics for several issues. This is the funniest one I came across the other evening:
This Afternoon and Last Night
It’s pretty hot today, so I’m letting my little people cool off with water. They would love to go to a swimming pool, but the big boys are all at work so I’m giving them the next best: cold water in a bathtub, with a plastic tub for Little Miss. This is when I really like having a laptop, so I can watch them while still getting something done! This is what I see as I write this:
When I went outside last evening to take a few pictures for the post I did featuring the garden, I got to enjoy a brilliant double rainbow. It was much more beautiful than these pictures show.
This is one of this year’s experiments. Right after we planted the tomatoes, I had broccoli and cauliflower that also needed planted, but didn’t have any space for them. I put some between rows of tomatoes. A chicken ate most of them while they were tiny, but some of the broccoli survived. It’s getting taken over by tomatoes by now, but I noticed that some are starting to form heads!
The sunset was gorgeous, and I always enjoy seeing the Indian Runner ducks running in single file across the paddock. The geese were pretty active, too, but the turkeys were going to bed. It was dark enough that my camera flashed, and in this picture, the second one I took, they were getting nervous.
Tonight’s Shopping Trip, and Frost Recovery
I had great fun cooking dinner tonight. My first step was to make a shopping trip. I walked through the garden collecting ingredients to put with some cooked lamb I had in the fridge, to make a delicious stew. This was what Mr. Diligent and I picked in a few minutes:
I love this time of year! We eat so well.
Our late frost was five weeks ago already. The zucchinis are completely recovered; within three weeks they were the size they had been before that frost. The tomatoes, on the other hand, while they are the same size again, have really been knocked back. They are finally blooming again now, but I’m afraid we won’t get much of a crop. Here are pictures of the same zucchini plant and the same tomato plant, the day of the frost, three weeks later, and tonight.
One Year Old!
Little Miss turned one yesterday. She didn’t seem to care one way or the other, but we are having a hard time believing we’ve already had her that long. We don’t do much of anything for a first birthday, but some of her brothers wanted to give her gifts. Mr. Imagination was sadly wanting to know what he could give her, so I suggested he pick a few peas in the garden and shell them for her. He happily did so, and they shared a bowl of raw peas! Here are the pictures we’ve taken of our precious little girl over the past month.
One evening when everyone else was away, she checked out the lawn mower, then went to investigate the ducks.
This was when she had just learned to walk and was thrilled to be able to transport things. She must have decided I needed the nearly-empty jug of molasses for the cow in the house, so she threw it in the door.
Here she was absolutely thrilled to have figured out how to climb the stepstool. Don’t ask how many times she’s fallen off by now when we forgot to turn it over!
One rainy day, her daddy and brothers rigged up a swing in the living room for her. She loved that!
Thrilled again to find a way to the top of the stool!
A family with seven children spent a day with us right after Christmas. The two babies started playing together late in the afternoon. We loved watching them “working” together with this toy computer!
She spent a couple of weeks playing with towels and washcloths and Mr. Imagination’s neon-green shirt, trying to get them onto her head. It takes a lot of work and concentration to accomplish that goal! Once she figured out how, she quit doing it!
It rained! She found a puddle just her size.
Another puddle! She likes to “wash” her feet and hands in the cat dish. I have to push it way back under the grill if the cat is to get any milk.
The faces she makes!
Memories of My Dad
I’ve been thinking about my dad a lot lately. He died of cancer 16 years ago, just before Christmas. While he wasn’t perfect, as none of us are, I feel very blessed to have had him for a father—and am very sad that my children haven’t had the opportunity to know him. I thought I’d share just a few of my memories of him here. This picture is of one of Dad’s favorite flowers, which he called a “pink”. (His other favorite flower was the black-eyed Susan.) When we stopped on our way home from church two weeks ago to pick cherries, there was a patch of these tiny pink flowers beside the van when I got out, and it made me think of Dad.
One thing I really remember about growing up is the sheer number of people who passed through our home. I’ve been reading my diaries from my teenage years lately, and one year I circled, on a pocket-size calendar, every day that we either went somewhere or someone came to see us. Some months had every day circled, and all had nearly every day circled! A story I remember clearly illustrates the kind of life we led.
Our manure spreader had broken down one fall, and Dad really needed another one, quickly, but as always there was very little money available. He and Mom went up to their bedroom to pray about the problem. As they were praying, a semi pulled up at the side of the road by our driveway and the driver walked up to the house. It turned out that he was a friend of one of our friends and wanted to meet Dad. In the course of the conversation, our need of a manure spreader was mentioned, and he said he knew of one that was for sale. Within a day or two, we had exactly what we needed!
I also remember Dad’s five-minute vacations. Pardon the mention of more manure, but when you have cows you have to deal with the stuff. He cleaned the gutters by hand every day during the winter, scooping the waste from 18 cows into a wheelbarrow, then taking it out the back door of the barn and dumping it off the edge of the hill into a pit. In the spring he would spread it on the fields. I remember him standing out there on the edge, just taking time to admire the sun setting in the west. That was his vacation for the day.
Dad was raised in the city, and moved to the country when he was 25. He claimed that he retired at that age and never worked another day in his life! Of course, he worked harder physically than he had ever worked before, but it goes to show what a difference attitude makes.
One thing I inherited from Dad is my love of history. I used to love discussing history with him.
Dad used to read us bedtime stories. He liked to add in sound effects (and sometimes would even stop reading and ask for sound effects!), or sing, rather than reading, the songs that were quoted. One story we read said something like, “They heard the crunch of gravel outside. ‘Who’s eating our driveway?’ so-and-so asked.” Another story had a girl say, “By the way people were dressed at church yesterday (they had just moved to a new community) they are poor.” He read it as, “By the way, people were dressed at church yesterday!” We loved his reading.
What stands out the most from Dad’s life was his love of God. That love radiated out of him to others. We often marveled at how complete strangers would end up telling Dad their life stories within a few minutes of meeting him. He was a good listener and had a way of asking penetrating (and sometimes uncomfortable!) questions.
Dad was a slow reader, but what he read he remembered. He did a lot of writing, mostly articles for the church paper. He would write them by hand, and then Mom would type them for him. One of my treasured possessions is a collection of his writings that she typed and copied for each of us children.
Dad was more than head over heels in love with Mom. He had his own terms of endearment for her. She was the “Beauty Spot of West Michigan,” the “Mother of Multitudes” (there were eight of us), and “Pretty as a Peach Pit.” One morning on our way to church, he suddenly remembered he hadn’t had his morning kiss, so he pulled over on the side of the road for a kiss. I could still show you the spot!
We never had new vehicles. One station wagon was rusty enough that he would hand a piece to a visitor, casually offering him a souvenir of his visit! A truck had a handy apple-core disposal hole beside the driver’s seat. These vehicles got us around most of the time, though. A joke in our house was that if he saw someone stealing our truck he’d run over and tell the person he was welcome to it–but give a long list of things you had to know in order to make it work!
December Fun
I was thrilled one evening when I came across this scene! This is only the first or second time ever that Mr. Diligence has voluntarily read a book! Mr. Imagination loved listening, of course.
We saw this impressive cold front on its way up from the south as we came home from church one Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, it blew over without dropping anything, although we did get a bit of rain later that night.
Is that a kiss—or a bite?
For our last homeschool gathering of the year, we went to a campground by the Waipara River. We were the first ones there, so the boys spent some time building dams while we waited for others to arrive.
Little Miss tasted rocks.
The boys discovered Little Miss with a jar of jam she had managed to get open. Instead of cleaning her up (we were supposed to be leaving in a few minutes for a barbeque!), Mr. Inventor started snapping pictures. It was cute, I’ll have to admit, to see her dipping in for yet another handful of jam! Thankfully, it was sugar-free, so not bad for her.
Mr. Sweetie was happy to get his cast off. The boys were all very interested in how it was done.
When Esther and Mr. Handyman came home, they brought gifts from the grandparents. This was Mr. Imagination’s favorite. He needed help putting it together a few times, but now he can do it himself.
Little Miss discovered an empty cupboard, and then Mr. Imagination joined her in it.
Christmas Day
Christmas Day here is sure different from anything we ever experienced in Michigan! There, most years, we stayed holed up inside the house, with snow blowing outside. Here, most years, it’s warm—if not hot—and sunny, and we like to go to the beach! This year, we took a picnic lunch to Claverley, to a beach we went out onto for a few minutes, once, several years ago. It turns out to be a wonderful beach for the children to play at, at low tide anyway. The beach is covered with tiny gravel, all worn smooth. It’s a dark color, so really attracts the heat of the sun, which felt good in the chilly wind that was blowing. Above the high tide line, the gravel was too hot to walk on comfortably with bare feet, but below that line there was moisture just below the surface and it felt just right. There was an area of rocks going out into the sea at one spot, and it made a perfect place for children to splash and play, until the tide came up about halfway. We found a lovely pine grove to eat our picnic in. The thick layer of pine needles on the ground made a lovely soft floor to sit on, and we were shaded from the bright sun. After lunch, we went and sat on the beach again for a couple of hours while the boys played in the water and then buried each other. It was a great day! On our way home, we picked cherries, but I never got any pictures of that.
Mr. Diligence and Mr. Sweetie running into the waves.
Looking north; the area with all the kelp is where we spent the most time. You can faintly see the Kaikoura Peninsula sticking out from that point of land.
Looking south.
As long as she wasn’t looking at the water, Little Miss was very happy. She loved playing in, and tasting, the gravel.
Our picnic grove. Our nephew who is spending a few months in New Zealand was with us for the day.
Mr. Inventor brought his boat along—half of a barrel! He sort of surfed with it.
The boys had fun being buried by Daddy. This is Mr. Diligence, Mr. Imagination, and Mr. Sweetie.
Little Miss helped bury Mr. Diligence, too.
Mr. Sweetie wasn’t feeling the best that day. He stayed buried in the warm gravel for a long time.
Esther was teasing Little Miss! The scared chuckling noises were pretty funny, as was the way she tried to climb higher on you.
Mr. Sweetie decided he wanted to stay buried until the waves came up to him. We watched as the tide crept higher and higher…
Mr. Inventor wanted to be buried sitting up. Daddy wore himself out burying so many sons in one day!
The waves have finally come up far enough that Mr. Sweetie got wet. He jumped up and ran to safety.
Check out Mr. Inventor’s expression!
In Honor of a Man of God
Sixteen years ago today, my father moved from earth to heaven. I still miss him, and when my sister posted a picture of him on Facebook a week or two ago, it gave me the idea to post a few pictures of him here. My dad was a wonderful man who loved his Lord and Savior, and his family. This first picture was taken in 1992.
Dad thought this picture, taken in 1994, was a very good one of him. It does capture his personality very well!
Dad and Mom, that same day, at the Little Sable Point lighthouse in Silver Lake, Michigan.
Dad and Mom’s 26th anniversary, 1993.
Dad in 1990 with my second-youngest brother. Isn’t he cute?
Our wedding—Dad had looked forward for years to walking a daughter up the aisle. I am thankful he was able to be at our wedding.
Holding Esther, his first grandchild, in 1998. He got to see his second grandchild as well; he died 8 days after Mr. Handyman was born. He always liked 2-year-olds the best, it seemed, but he never got to enjoy a 2-year-old grandchild, as Esther was only a year and a half when he died.
This is one of the last pictures I have of Dad, taken 6 or 8 months before his death.
I learned so much from my Dad, and sure look forward to seeing him again someday.
Little Glimpses into Our Life
A couple of weeks ago, the boys noticed a peacock running along the fence on the north side of this property. The next morning, the peacock was in our paddock, preening and generally making himself at home. We frequently see him showing off his ragged, beautiful tail, and the sounds we hear multiple times through the day make it sound like a zoo here!
I got out this box of milk bottles so I could put milk in the freezer. Looks like the rats got there first. I was glad to hear that the bait we put out is gone; we haven’t seen signs of rats recently (these bottles have been stored in that spot since about March). Why they would eat empty, clean milk bottles, and the calf bottle, is beyond me.
Mr. Imagination
Gayle decided they needed to find out what exactly it was like in the underground water tank. The water level was down to about 2 feet deep, after watering the garden for a couple of days, so he tied a rope around Mr. Diligence and lowered him in. He walked around and reported that the floor is solid concrete, covered with a layer of mud and debris.
I liked this—all the boys laying around the hole, looking in.
The boys found this hedgehog while they were feeding the chickens one evening.
Little Miss was delighted to be able to see the hen with her four chicks!
Mr. Sweetie can read! I found a couple of beginning readers for him the other evening, and he didn’t want to go to bed; he wanted to keep reading. I told him he was allowed to get up early in the morning to read. He didn’t like that idea, but as soon as he was up in the morning he was reading!
